The Saddest Puppet Show on Earth

Once homeowners, once hardworking employees, once part of the American dream, now foreclosed, evicted, unemployed. The lucky ones shuffle among the couches of friends and family, or as they lose ground despite food stamps and unemployment, the less lucky bed down in their cars or arrange their cardboard on sidewalks or doorways. In this installment of Who's Hungry  Santa Monica, the creators of this three-year endeavor use the irony of dinner table puppetry combined with dance, text and original music to tell the tales of five of the growing homeless population. The creators  producer/writer/choreographer Dan Froot, puppet designer/director Dan Hurlin and composer Amy Denio  effectively use the artistic distance afforded by puppets to bring life and humanity to the swelling ranks of those daily making Sophie's choices among food, medicine, a bus token or rent. At Highways Performance Space, 1651 18th St., Santa Monica; Fri.-Sat., Jan. 17-Feb. 4, 8:30 p.m.; $20; $15 students & seniors. (310) 315-1459 or highwaysperformance.org.
Fridays, Saturdays, 8:30 p.m. Starts: Jan. 27. Continues through Feb. 4, 2012